Electric cooker

Abstract

An electric cooker is configured to cook food in a pressurized state and a non-pressurized state of an inner pot, thereby improving the cooking quality and convenience of use. The electric cooker includes a main body having an inner pot configured to accommodate food and a heating unit; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the main body and opened/closed by an opening/closing unit; and a pressure switching selection unit arranged to pass through the lid and configured to switch or maintain opened/closed states to discharge internal steam from the inner pot by interworking with the opening/closing unit.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electric cooker comprising:
 a main body equipped therein with an inner pot configured to accommodate food; 
 a lid coupled to an upper portion of the main body so as to be opened/closed; 
 a pressure switching selection unit arranged to pass through the lid, in which a pressure discharge passage, which is selectively opened or closed to discharge an internal steam of the inner pot, and a pressure control passage, which is selectively opened or closed according to a level of pressure inside the inner pot when the pressure discharge passage is closed, are disposed in the pressure switching selection unit in series in a multi-stage arrangement; and 
 a handle portion provided on an upper surface of the lid, 
 wherein the handle portion interworks with an inner pot locking unit to lock the inner pot, and 
 the pressure discharge passage is opened or closed by a link unit interworkinq with the handle portion, 
 wherein the pressure switching selection unit comprises: 
 a base cylinder formed therein with the pressure discharge passage and disposed to pass through a lower surface of the lid such that a lower end of the base cylinder communicates with the inner pot; 
 a control body portion formed therein with the pressure control passage and disposed on an upper portion of the base cylinder; 
 a lifting cylinder configured to surround an outer periphery of the base cylinder, coupled to a lower end of the control body portion and moved up and down by the link unit to switch the opened/closed states of the pressure discharge passage; 
 a pressing unit configured to press the lifting cylinder to maintain the opened/closed states of the pressure discharge passage; and 
 a pressure weight provided at an end of the pressure control passage to open or close the pressure control passage according to a level of pressure inside the inner pot. 
 
     
     
       2. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure discharge passage is configured to have a sectional area greater than or equal to a preset critical flow sectional area, and the pressure control passage is configured to have a sectional area less than the preset critical flow sectional area. 
     
     
       3. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a handle base portion rotatably connected to a lower end of the handle portion and having a locking ring interworking portion at one end thereof and a lever interworking portion at the other end thereof; and 
 a lift lever portion disposed in contact with an outer periphery of the pressure switching selection unit and configured to move linearly to one side and the other side corresponding to rotation of the lever interworking portion, 
 wherein the link unit is provided on an upper surface of the lift lever portion as a lift protrusion portion, which is disposed along a portion coming into contact with an outer periphery of the pressure switching selection unit when the lift lever portion moves linearly and is gradually inclined upward in a linear movement direction when the handle portion is rotated to be locked. 
 
     
     
       4. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein a pressure discharge hole is formed to pass through a side wall portion of the lifting cylinder to selectively communicate with an upper end of the pressure discharge passage when the control body portion moves upward,
 the lifting cylinder is arranged to pass through an upper perforation portion formed on an upper surface of the lid, and 
 a hole packing is fitted onto an outer periphery of the lifting cylinder, wherein the hole packing has an inner end in close contact with a lower portion of the pressure discharge hole and an outer end, which extends outward radially and bent downward, in close contact with an edge of the upper perforation portion. 
 
     
     
       5. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein a lifting blade portion, which is pressed to move upward along an inclined surface of a lift protrusion portion provided on the link unit, protrudes from a lower outer periphery of the lifting cylinder, and
 an edge of the lifting blade portion is rounded such that the edge of the lifting blade portion is separated when the lift protrusion portion is divided. 
 
     
     
       6. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the pressing unit is configured as a coil spring having an elastic modulus corresponding to an abnormal pressure so that the pressure discharge passage is forcibly opened at a preset abnormal pressure or above,
 a spring coupling step is formed on an outer periphery of the base cylinder to support an upper end of the coil spring, and 
 a support blade portion protrudes inward radially from a lower end of the lifting cylinder so as to be engaged with an outer periphery of the base cylinder and to support a lower end of the coil spring. 
 
     
     
       7. The electric cooker of  claim 6 , wherein a slide packing is mounted on an upper portion of the spring coupling step, and
 a plurality of ring-shaped sealing ribs protrude outward radially from an outer periphery of the slide packing to come into close contact with an inner periphery of the lifting cylinder. 
 
     
     
       8. The electric cooker of  claim 6 , wherein a D-cut portion is formed at an outer periphery of the base cylinder, and
 an inner end of the support blade portion is processed in a D-cut shape and slidably engaged with the D-cut portion. 
 
     
     
       9. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein an opening/closing protrusion is provided on a lower surface of the control body portion, the opening/closing protrusion protrudes downward along an edge of the pressure control passage, and an opening/closing packing is fitted onto an outer periphery of the opening/closing protrusion to seal an edge of the pressure discharge passage when the control body portion moves downward. 
     
     
       10. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein a fastening portion is provided at a lower end of the base cylinder and screw-coupled into a mounting hole of a control plate provided on a lower surface of the lid. 
     
     
       11. The electric cooker of  claim 10 , wherein a washer step is formed at an outer periphery of the base cylinder along an upper portion of the fastening portion such that a washer member is mounted on the washer step and supported by an upper end edge of the mounting hole. 
     
     
       12. The electric cooker of  claim 10 , wherein the base cylinder includes a first base cylinder disposed at a lower portion of the control body portion and a second base cylinder having the fastening portion fastened to a lower portion of the first base cylinder, and
 a washer blade portion protrudes from the second base cylinder along an upper portion of the fastening portion so as to be supported by an upper end edge of the mounting hole. 
 
     
     
       13. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the control body portion comprises:
 a mounting body portion formed with a plurality of pressure discharge holes extending vertically along an outer peripheral region of the pressure discharge passage; and 
 a spacing protrusion protruding from an upper surface of the mounting body portion, in which the pressure weight is coupled with the spacing protrusion such that the pressure weight is spaced apart from the pressure discharge holes. 
 
     
     
       14. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein a piece fastening groove is formed in an outer periphery of the control body portion, and an end portion of a screw member extending by passing through a side wall portion of the lifting cylinder is fastened to the piece fastening groove. 
     
     
       15. The electric cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the control body portion is provided at a lower portion thereof with a coupling partition wall which extends downward to surround the base cylinder and has a pressure discharge hole selectively communicating with an upper end of the pressure discharge passage, and
 the base cylinder is provided at an upper end thereof with a cover packing which surrounds an edge of the pressure discharge passage in close contact with an inner surface of the coupling partition wall. 
 
     
     
       16. The electric cooker of  claim 15 , wherein the cover packing includes a ring body portion inserted into a cover coupling groove recessed in an upper end of the base cylinder and a cover extension portion extending from an outer periphery of the ring body portion to surround an upper end of the base cylinder,
 the control body portion is formed at a lower surface thereof with a matching groove engaged with an upper end of the ring body portion, and 
 a fixing protrusion hooked to a cover fixing groove of the base cylinder protrudes from an inner periphery of the cover extension portion, in which a packing protrusion in close contact with an inner surface of the coupling partition wall and an auxiliary sealing protrusion in close contact with a lower surface of the control body portion protrude from an outer periphery of the cover extension portion. 
 
     
     
       17. The electric cooker of  claim 15 , wherein the coupling partition wall is arranged to pass through an upper perforation portion formed on an upper surface of the lid, and
 a hole packing is mounted on an outer periphery of the coupling partition wall, in which the hole packing has an inner end in close contact with a lower portion of the pressure discharge hole and an outer end which extends outward radially and is bent downward in close contact with an edge of the upper perforation portion. 
 
     
     
       18. The electric cooker of  claim 15 , wherein the lifting cylinder comprises:
 a support body portion configured to support a lower end of the coupling partition wall and provided at an inner periphery thereof with a support blade portion engaged with an outer periphery of the base cylinder; and 
 a clamping body portion configured to surround an outer periphery of the support body portion such that an upper end of the clamping body portion is fastened to an outer periphery of the coupling partition wall, in which a coupling support protrusion configured to support a coupling support step formed on an outer surface of the support body portion protrudes from a lower end of the clamping body portion, 
 wherein a restricting protrusion protrudes from the support body portion, and a restricting groove, into which the restricting protrusion is inserted, is formed at a lower portion of the coupling partition wall to restrict rotation of the control body portion.